Epic Games, Lego join forces for latest 'Fortnite' game

NEW YORK - Toy giant Lego and videogame leader Epic Games joined forces to launch "Lego Fortnite" in a bid to grow a platform already used by hundreds of millions of people.

The game, which like prior Fortnite offerings is free to download, features the colorful animated landscape familiar to gamers but with figures who come from the Danish company's distinct universe.

While the setting resembles that of the original Fortnite game, first launched in 2017, the playable space in the Lego version is 19 times as big.

In the original Fortnite "Battle Royale," players win by eliminating competitors and remaining the sole survivor on the island.

The Lego game has two options, with the "survival" mode pitting contestants against skeletons and menacing wolf-life figures and the more innocuous "sandbox" option lacking such threats and geared towards younger users.

The game's designers ensured that all the settings and characters who appear in the game could be built in the real world with Lego pieces.

"We are starting to build a real bridge between the physical and the digital world, which in a way ... has never been done before," said Julia Goldin, chief product and marketing officer at Lego.

Lego also sees an opportunity to "invite a lot more committed digital players to experience the physical world of Lego bricks," Goldin said.

Lego Fortnite will compete with massively popular videogames such as Minecraft or Animal Crossing.